Google has updated its Chrome Web Store rules to prohibit prediction market extensions that facilitate real-money transactions, with enforcement set to begin on Aug. 1, 2026.
Summary
- Google will ban Chrome extensions that enable real-money prediction market transactions from Aug. 1, 2026.
- The policy update comes as Kalshi and other prediction market platforms face growing legal scrutiny in the U.S.
- A New York court allowed the state’s lawsuit against Kalshi to proceed over sports-related event contracts.
According to Google’s latest update to its Developer Program policies, browser extensions that “facilitate or enable real money transactions on predictive outcomes” will no longer be permitted on the Chrome Web Store.
The company said developers have until Aug. 1, 2026, to comply, after which non-compliant extensions could face enforcement action, including removal from the marketplace.
The policy revision comes at a time when prediction market operators are facing growing legal and regulatory pressure in the United States, particularly over sports-related contracts. Platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket have increasingly found themselves at the center of disputes involving state gambling laws and the classification of event-based contracts.
Google has expanded restrictions on prediction market products
Alongside several updates to its Developer Program policies, Google explicitly added prediction market extensions to its list of prohibited products. While the company did not mention any specific platform by name, the revised language directly targets extensions that allow users to conduct real-money transactions tied to future events.
Google said enforcement will begin on Aug. 1, warning that extensions remaining out of compliance after that date may face action through the Chrome Web Store.
The policy change arrives shortly after prediction markets attracted attention outside financial regulation. As crypto.news previously reported, music streaming company Spotify challenged Polymarket and Kalshi after discovering its branding had been used in connection with prediction markets despite no partnership existing between the companies.
Spotify also said it had removed more than 500,000 artificial streams that falsely boosted Malcolm Todd’s song Earrings on its platform. Kalshi later settled a prediction market tied to those manipulated streaming numbers, drawing additional scrutiny to the event contract.
Kalshi continues to face legal challenges in New York
Meanwhile, legal pressure on Kalshi has continued to build in New York after the state secured a court victory in its dispute with the prediction market operator.
Following the ruling, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “Gamble with our laws and you’re going to lose. Just ask Kalshi.” Her comments came after New York’s Attorney General accused the company of attempting to bypass state gambling laws, a position that survived Kalshi’s effort to block the case.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Judge Analisa Torres denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction against New York. The court determined that the state’s gambling laws apply to Kalshi’s sports-related event contracts, allowing New York’s lawsuit to move forward.
State officials have maintained that prediction markets offering sports-based contracts can fall within existing gambling regulations when they operate without state authorization. Hochul added that her administration and the Attorney General would continue pursuing gambling platforms, including prediction markets, that they believe violate New York law.
Regulatory scrutiny has also extended beyond Kalshi. New York has filed legal action against Coinbase and Gemini, alleging that their prediction market offerings function as unlicensed gambling businesses under state law.
Google has not linked its Chrome policy update to any individual enforcement case. However, the timing places the new restrictions alongside mounting legal disputes involving prediction market platforms, leaving developers offering real-money event contract extensions with less than a month to comply before the Aug. 1 enforcement deadline.
